Trade's Success for Rays Hinges on Myers

Published: Sunday, June 16, 2013 at 11:51 p.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, June 16, 2013 at 11:51 p.m.

ST. PETERSBURG | This is not to say the seven-player winter trade that sent James Shields and Wade Davis to the Royals for Wil Myers will not prove to be a good trade for both teams.

Much of that depends on Myers, the young phenom who will make his major league debut Tuesday in Boston.

The lesson, learned the hard way in 2012, is that the Rays needed to get more offense from somewhere to keep from wasting a great pitching staff.

The pitching staff is no longer great, in no small part because Shields and Davis are no longer on it, but Myers is the kind of highly credentialed prospect for which something of value must be exchanged.

That's why they call it a trade.

The trade is already a huge success for the Royals, who have the best pitching in the American League so far, and for Davis, the Lake Wales product who is a starting pitcher again after pitching 54 games in relief for the Rays last year.

Like almost any young pitcher, Davis would prefer to start. He understood why the Rays sent him to the bullpen, and he never complained about it. In fact, he had a very good year in relief. Nevertheless, the trade to the Royals was just right for him, even though it has taken him a couple of months to readjust to a starting role.

"It's been a little tougher than I thought it was going to be but everything's starting to get better," he said. "It's physically (tougher) a little bit, but just mentally, too, just preparing myself to be facing (hitters) three times."

He had to bring his other pitches out of mothballs this spring. Knowing he would only be facing hitters once last year, he threw only fastballs and curves.

There was some irony in the fact that Davis came back to post his first win in a month against the Rays on Sunday. If he were still on the Rays' staff, he may well be preparing to start right now.

With David Price and Alex Cobb on the disabled list, Jeremy Hellickson sporting a 5.67 earned run average and Matt Moore winless in his last five starts, the Rays' rotation is looking extremely shaky. Chris Archer and Alex Colome are going to be the stating pitchers Tuesday in a doubleheader against the division-leading Red Sox.

Gulp!

Who would have guessed as two or three weeks ago that Roberto Hernandez would now be the most stable element in the pitching rotation?

Things are not going well. Sunday's loss marked the first time in 10 years the Rays have lost six of eight games within a homestand. The last time it happened (June 24-July 2, 2003), Joe Maddon was the bench coach of the Angels, Davis was a Lake Wales Highlander, and William Bradford Myers was using up the final year of his Little League eligibility in Thomasville, N.C.

Now it is time for him to come up and show why that big December trade was good for the Rays, too. In spite of their recent woes, the Rays are still only five games out of first place with 93 games left to play.

"It'll be good to get him out there," Maddon said. "I think he'll be very excited about it and there could be a little bit of a nudge for us. Who knows?"

<p>ST. PETERSBURG | This is not to say the seven-player winter trade that sent James Shields and Wade Davis to the Royals for Wil Myers will not prove to be a good trade for both teams.</p><p>Much of that depends on Myers, the young phenom who will make his major league debut Tuesday in Boston.</p><p>The lesson, learned the hard way in 2012, is that the Rays needed to get more offense from somewhere to keep from wasting a great pitching staff.</p><p>The pitching staff is no longer great, in no small part because Shields and Davis are no longer on it, but Myers is the kind of highly credentialed prospect for which something of value must be exchanged.</p><p>That's why they call it a trade.</p><p>The trade is already a huge success for the Royals, who have the best pitching in the American League so far, and for Davis, the Lake Wales product who is a starting pitcher again after pitching 54 games in relief for the Rays last year.</p><p>Like almost any young pitcher, Davis would prefer to start. He understood why the Rays sent him to the bullpen, and he never complained about it. In fact, he had a very good year in relief. Nevertheless, the trade to the Royals was just right for him, even though it has taken him a couple of months to readjust to a starting role.</p><p>"It's been a little tougher than I thought it was going to be but everything's starting to get better," he said. "It's physically (tougher) a little bit, but just mentally, too, just preparing myself to be facing (hitters) three times."</p><p>He had to bring his other pitches out of mothballs this spring. Knowing he would only be facing hitters once last year, he threw only fastballs and curves.</p><p>There was some irony in the fact that Davis came back to post his first win in a month against the Rays on Sunday. If he were still on the Rays' staff, he may well be preparing to start right now.</p><p>With David Price and Alex Cobb on the disabled list, Jeremy Hellickson sporting a 5.67 earned run average and Matt Moore winless in his last five starts, the Rays' rotation is looking extremely shaky. Chris Archer and Alex Colome are going to be the stating pitchers Tuesday in a doubleheader against the division-leading Red Sox.</p><p>Gulp!</p><p>Who would have guessed as two or three weeks ago that Roberto Hernandez would now be the most stable element in the pitching rotation?</p><p>Things are not going well. Sunday's loss marked the first time in 10 years the Rays have lost six of eight games within a homestand. The last time it happened (June 24-July 2, 2003), Joe Maddon was the bench coach of the Angels, Davis was a Lake Wales Highlander, and William Bradford Myers was using up the final year of his Little League eligibility in Thomasville, N.C.</p><p>Now it is time for him to come up and show why that big December trade was good for the Rays, too. In spite of their recent woes, the Rays are still only five games out of first place with 93 games left to play.</p><p>"It'll be good to get him out there," Maddon said. "I think he'll be very excited about it and there could be a little bit of a nudge for us. Who knows?"</p>